FROM LEFTOVERS TO GOURMET

Call it what you want.

Cottage or Shepherd’s Pie, Páté Chinois or Pub-style Irish. It’s all basically the same.

“The key element of the dish [is] consistent: a meat and vegetable filling topped with mashed potatoes and baked until golden and delicious,” Morris H. Lary wrote in Food/World History.

Who could argue with that?

Why and when was this humble dish created? The “why” is clear – there’s always a need to use leftovers. Think of the endless post-thanksgiving recipes like leftover turkey tetrazzini and turkey a la king. With a refrigerator and freezer, it’s easy. Cook the leftovers, serve the next day, or freeze for dinner months later.

What if you don’t have a fridge or freezer?

Enter potatoes.

Potatoes were first cultivated in South America nearly 8,000 years ago. Archeologists believe that it was a staple in many ancient pre-Columbian cultures. Indigenous people mashed, baked, boiled, and stewed potatoes.

It wasn’t until the sixteenth century that the Spanish Conquistadores brought potatoes to Europe. At first, Europeans refused to eat them. It was a “non-food,” according to Wikipedia, “regarded with suspicion and fear . . . the creation of witches or devils.” They believed that the rough, uneven shape spoke of poisonous evil spirits from a plant where only the roots were edible. Many claimed that eating potatoes caused diseases like leprosy, syphilis, and narcosis (stupor, unconsciousness, or extreme fatigue).

Only livestock and the very poor ate them.

Eventually people changed. Acceptance of potatoes spread slowly but steadily. It was hard to resist the nutritious, hearty, and affordable tuber. The Spanish Empire used potatoes to feed their army and navy. The King of France, Louis XVI, encouraged widespread cultivation. Even Marie Antoinette pinned potato flowers in her epic hairstyles.

By the seventeenth century, potatoes were commonplace – a staple in the European diet.

The colonists brought potatoes to North America. It became a popular crop. President Thomas Jefferson, often dubbed America’s “first foodie,” requested that “potatoes [be] served in the French manner” at White House dinners. In other words, deep-fried potatoes in small pieces – what we call French fries.

Diego Arguedas Ortiz declared in BBC, “. . . the humble potato changed the world.”

He was right. Potatoes, along with dishes like Shepherd’s and Cottage Pies, filled an important need. It was (and is) one way to help feed a hungry world.

Dorothy Hartley, author and historian, quoted a traditional rhyme about “vicarage mutton,” highlighting the interchangeable role of Shepherd’s and Cottage Pies:

Hot on Sunday

Cold on Monday

Hashed on Tuesday

Minced on Wednesday

Curried Thursday

Broth on Friday

Cottage pie Saturday

The last line should be: No leftovers.

“This frugal, albeit clever meal suggests the name “cottage pie” referred to the consumers of the dish,” Greg Stegeman wrote, “poor Irish peasants (remember they lived in cottages).” He maintained that the earliest recipes used mutton because it was cheaper and tastier than beef.

Many believe that Shepherd’s Pie hailed from the UK where beef was more popular. Wikipedia argued that a recipe published in 1849 in Edinburgh, made it a Scots tradition. Master Class claimed the reverse – Cottage Pie used beef and Shepherd’s Pie used lamb.

Get the picture?

According to British Food in America, “it’s a homely thing . . . its source remains mostly unexamined despite its ubiquity on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The name “Cottage Pie” was used before “Shepherd’s Pie.” They both originated in the British Isles and Ireland, and immigrated to the New World. Ironically, the simple recipe and adaptability led to a lot of people and cuisines claiming they invented it.

Go French-style with Hachis Permentia, Chili’s Pastel de Papas, or Indonesia’s Pastel Tutup. Try Israeli Shepard’s Pie (kosher), sweet potato, Shepherd’s Pie in a jar, or Harry Potter-Style. Sharon Gomperts and Rachel Sheff wrote in the Jewish Journal that their recipe is a blend of “East meets West” with spices like allspice, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg.

Today’s big guys are into it as well: Martha Stewart offers recipes for cheddar-topped and lobster; Rachel Ray promotes a 30-minute version; and Ina Garten uses turkey. The Food Network boasts over 25 mix-and-match recipes, from Hungarian-style to Shepherdless (meatless). You can buy frozen Shepherd’s Pie, Shepherd’s Pie mix, traditional pub-style, or create your own version. It can be topped with anything from ketchup and cheese to Worcestershire and honey mustard sauce.

It all works. That’s the beauty of Shepard’s Pie.

If you can’t choose, check Amazon’s hundreds of cookbooks, costumes, tee-shirts, toys . . . even doggie chew toys.

Whatever you call it, put in it or on it, you can’t go wrong.

Enjoy!